Big West Wine Fest has attracted up to 800 attendees. Above, BWWF amid the redwoods at Solar Punk Farms in Guerneville. [Photo courtesy Iren Sophia]
McGonigle. “What they’re really looking for is wines they maybe haven’t seen before, shown in new ways, at prices that are not excessive. Wine bars with younger customers also want that.” Stevenson adds that in such venues, the artwork and music tends to be meticulously curated. “You see interest partly because of the decor, the ethnic and racial diversity of customers, what people share online and the playlists. At Offhand Wine Bar we pair our playlists with the wine on our menu. Everything we offer says, 'This is a place for you to unwind and have a good time,'" says Stevenson. Meeting young consumers where they’re at Events directed toward younger wine consumers are another avenue to share the North Bay’s products. Millennials and members of Gen Z are starting to see wine as a tastier, more natural alternative to the dizzying array of India Pale Ales, sour beers and overly sweet canned cocktails. One popular event is Big West Wine Fest (BWWF), a two-day June gathering of close to 100 natural producers. The event is held under the redwoods at Guerneville’s Solar Punk Farms. This October will also mark the second Cider Circus!, a one- day cider, beer and co-fermenting festival in October, held at Steamer Landing in Petaluma. The first Cider Circus! took place this past April. The events, organized by Emily Weber and Nina Kravetz, create a “big tent” that welcomes families and people from all generations. “The idea of Big West Wine Fest and Cider Circus! is to celebrate the industry without leaving anyone out. For both events, we lean heavily on the producers and the people
involved to spread the word. Many returning guests from the Big West Wine Fest use Instagram Stories to share photos and videos from their experiences,” says Kravetz. Close to 800 attendees came to the BWWF in 2025. Weber and Kravetz expect that number in 2026, and about 400 Cider Circus! Guests. “We did a survey for BWWF in 2023 and found the demographics of attendees to be 30 to 40% from Sonoma County, 30% from the San Francisco Bay Area, and 20% from elsewhere, including Los Angeles and Chicago,” says Weber. Wine producers at the BWWF from the past three years have included Pax Wines from Sebastopol, Filomena Wine Company in Sonoma and Ryme Cellars in Forestville. The BWWF retains an offbeat and colorful tone by inviting numerous local restaurants and food trucks, as well as a variety of vendors, including Russian River’s Books & Letters and Hair & Heavy Metal, a Guerneville-based mobile hair salon. “In 2026, we plan to broaden our reach of winemakers and invite more natural wine producers from beyond the North Bay. We’ll also have an epic experimental test kitchen and a livestream radio program about the event going all weekend,” says Kravetz. Weber says the idea for the events occurred to her and Kravetz when they were working for producers in Sonoma County. “We asked ourselves why we were driving an hour south to showcase Sonoma County wines instead of bringing folks up here,” says Weber. A bit farther east, at the Obsidian Wine Co. facility in Sonoma, winemaker Justin Michelle Ward Trabue agrees that
34 NorthBaybiz
October 2025
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